Top Child Pornography Defense Attorney

Top Child Pornography Defense Attorney

Sex crime allegations are serious and can turn a person’s life completely upside down. The repercussions get even worse when sex crimes involve children. Being charged with a sex crime causes many to look at you with a suspicious eye.

When facing child-related sex crime charges, like child pornography, the best way to prove your innocence is by introducing reasonable doubt into the prosecution’s case.

Unfortunately, this is not something you can easily do on your own. In fact, not every attorney is adequately equipped to handle criminal sexual conduct charges/cases (learn about the four CSC degrees here), like child pornography. You will need a top criminal sexual conduct attorney with years of experience handling sex crimes and particularly cases involving children.

Child Pornography Defense Attorney

If you live in Michigan, or anywhere else in the United States, defense lawyer Nicole Blank Becker is the person to seek out when facing child pornography allegations or charges. She has years of experience spanning more than two decades in Michigan criminal law. Better yet, her practice is focused solely on sex crimes, meaning all she does is deal with cases involving sexual abuse day after day, year after year. Nicole has a deeper insight into Michigan sex crimes than most Michigan lawyers.

In Nicole’s 20+ years of practicing law, she has served as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney. As the Chief of the Sex Crime Unit and Chief of the Child Abuse Unit in Macomb County, her knowledge and experience will help you when you need it most.

When hiring child pornography lawyer Nicole Blank Becker, you know you are in the hands of someone who not only talks that talk, but walks the walk. She can look at a case from all angles, which will maximize your chances of a favorable outcome.

Michigan Child Pornography Law

Under Michigan child pornography law, child pornography, also referred to as child sexually abusive material, is any depiction of a minor engaging in a sexual act. The depiction can be a physical photo, digital photo, video, computer-generated image of a child, unprocessed raw data, or other illegal images depicting child pornography.

Michigan law classifies child pornography crimes into three different categories:

• Production of Child Pornography
• Distribution of Child Pornography
• Possession of Child Pornography

Production of Child Pornography – MCL 750.145d

The production of child pornography involves participating in the production of child pornographic content while knowing or having reason to know that the person depicted in the content is a minor. This is the most severe form child pornography crime, attracting penalties of up to 25 years in prison, fines of up to $125,000, or both.

Distribution of Child Pornography – MCL 750.145e

The distribution of child pornography is a crime that involves knowingly sharing sexually explicit depictions of a minor. The offense is as simple as sending sexually explicit images of yourself to a friend if you are under 18 years of age. Playing any role in the distribution of such content is also a crime. Upon conviction, the sex offender can be looking at up to 15 years in prison, fines not exceeding $75,000, or both.

Possession of Child Pornography – MCL 750.145c

Under Michigan child pornography laws, not only is it against the law to look at child pornography, but it is also a crime to possess child pornography. Possession extends to viewing sexually explicit content on the internet or downloading child pornography. Upon conviction, the sex offenders can get up to 10 years in prison, a fine not exceeding $50,000, or both.

Child Pornography – WARNING TO ALL PARENTS

Child pornography offenses are not always as obvious as one would think. Take, for example, teenage lovers between the ages of 16 and 18 years old. Under Michigan law, a 16-year-old can consent to sex (age of consent in Michigan), however, if a teen takes pictures or record videos of themselves engaging in sexual acts, they could face charges for the production and possession of child pornography, if caught. If either one of them, or both of them, go ahead and share the pictures and/or videos with their peers, distribution of child pornography charges are likely.

While the act of sending pictures or videos may not seem serious, the outcomes could mean having your child live a big part of their life with the designation of a registered sex offender under SORA (i.e. the Michigan Sex Offender Registry). This is why you need to contact a skilled internet sex crimes attorney like Attorney Nicole Blank Becker to help you immediately if your teen finds themselves in such circumstances.

Federal Child Pornography Offenses

Is child pornography a state or federal law? Even though the state will have jurisdiction over child pornography offenses, the crimes become federal when they cross state or international lines.

Federal law defines child pornography as any depiction of a child engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Sexually explicit conduct, as used under federal laws, includes nude photos, if deemed sexually suggestive.

Like Michigan child pornography laws, federal laws criminalize the production, possession and distribution of child pornography. However, federal laws extend beyond the three, including mailing, transporting, receiving with intent to sell, and trafficking child pornography into the United States. That means child pornography offenses prosecuted in a federal court are often offenses committed using a computer or the internet.

Federal sentencing guidelines for convicted child pornography offenders are more severe than they are for state crimes, and offenders can get up to 40 years in federal prison depending on the prevailing circumstances. Also, it is possible to face charges in state and federal courts concurrently, meaning you will need to work with a lawyer who has experience representing clients in both federal court and state court from the beginning.

How a Child Pornography Attorney Can Help You as the Accused

Irrespective of the level of child pornography crimes you are accused of, you can expect state or federal prosecutors and investigative agencies to be very aggressive. So, if you are going to present any criminal sexual conduct defense, it must be watertight.

Possible defenses for child pornography charges can include:

• Not a child: “Not a child” can be a defense option if there is no evidence proving that the individuals depicted in the pornographic material were minors.
• Entrapment: Entrapment can be a defense strategy if police officers induce you to commit a crime you may not have otherwise committed if not for the inducement. This is a common defense strategy for charges resulting from police sting operations.
• Addiction to child porn: While this option cannot get you off the hook, it can help reduce your penalty with the condition that you will seek professional help for your addiction.
• Illegal search: If the investigative agencies obtain evidence illegally, your attorney could use an illegal search as a defense.

Let Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney Nicole Blank Becker of Blank Law, PC Help You with Your Child Pornography Cases

If you are facing child pornography charges, child pornography lawyer Nicole Blank Becker of Blank Law, PC is your go-to attorney. Nicole has over two decades of experience handling child pornography and sex crimes in Michigan, along with a record of success to back it up.

Nicole has seen it all in her over two-decades-long practice of law, and she understands the intricacies of sexual crimes. Unlike most child pornography lawyers, she focuses on building a solid attorney-client relationship, allowing her clients to confidently share all the details required to build a strong defense in order to help them in the fight for their life.

Do not let an innocent mistake ruin your life or your teenage child by entrusting a child pornography case to an inexperienced child pornography lawyer. Call Blank Law, PC, at (248) 515-6583 or contact attorney Nicole Blank Becker online to book your first free consultation with Michigan’s best child pornography lawyer.